Someone tell me...............

this is a discussion within the Saints Community Forum; Why? With all the talk about Reggie Bush not signing with New Orleans, where is all of the talk about his high class unselfish teammate Matt Leinart? I haven't heard a peep about him since May. What's up media?...

Why? With all the talk about Reggie Bush not signing with New Orleans, where is all of the talk about his high class unselfish teammate Matt Leinart? I haven't heard a peep about him since May. What's up media?

Even as he vowed to stay out of the negotiations, coach Dennis Green blamed Leinart's camp for the failure to reach agreement.

"We have an excellent deal on the table," said Green, who did not provide details.

Green spoke to reporters after the rest of the team checked in to its dormitory at Northern Arizona University. Players were asked to report Sunday, but Green said Leinart won't be considered late unless he misses the first practice at 8:45 a.m. Monday.

Arizona appeared close to a deal with Leinart when his agent, Tom Condon, came to Phoenix Friday to meet with club officials. But Condon left the Valley after the sides did not meet Sunday.

"Like all of our other clients, we want to get Matt in as quickly as possible," Condon said in a telephone interview. "We always work toward that end. We're football fans like everybody else. We're anxious to see him on the field."

Condon's firm, Creative Artists Agency, represents five other first-round draft picks. All are in camp.

Green noted that quarterback Jay Cutler, selected one rung below Leinart, recently signed with Denver. The player chosen immediately ahead of Leinart, linebacker Ernie Sims, signed with Detroit Sunday.

Those deals should have provided a framework for Leinart and the Cardinals as they worked on a contract, but the sides appeared to be far apart Sunday night. Green said it wasn't the club's fault.

"I would assume that an inability to get the contract done is just some continuation of looking at what possibilities are from their end," Green said.

Leinart, a former Heisman Trophy winner from the University of Southern California, wouldn't be the first high Cardinal draft pick to hold out. But Green defended the team's dealings with recent first-round selections.

"Larry Fitzgerald got a very good deal, and he was our No. 3 pick a few years ago," Green said. "Antrel Rolle got a very good contract last year at the No. 8 pick.

"We have to understand that Matt Leinart, who we are very high on and feel is going to be a very good quarterback for us and have a great impact on the National Football League, also would have been offered a very good contract," Green said. "We've signed every other player, so there's only a certain amount of money that's available."

Green, who called Leinart "a gift" when the club selected him last April, said he wanted his top draft choice here to compete with John Navarre for the back-up quarterback job.

"Everybody has to get better by being here," Green said. "That's the best way to play. But if a guy is not here, you understand that it's not that he doesn't want to play for the Arizona Cardinals, it's that he feels he has not been able to sign a contract that we've offered."

Leinart has been assigned a dormitory room with starting quarterback Kurt Warner. For one night, at least, Warner had a single room.

Asked if he'd like to see Leinart in camp, Warner said, "Sure. Let's get everybody here. We don't want to start this thing without anybody.

"As a young quarterback, you never want to miss any time, especially as short as training camp is and the limited number of snaps that are there to be had," Warner said. "I know he wants to be here, and we all want to have him here. I'm sure he's only a couple of hours away, just waiting for that call to come up. Hopefully it won't be too long."